NBC Wins Rights to Olympics Through 2020: WSJ

NBC has beaten out competitors ESPN and FOX for the right to broadcast the next four Olympic games in a deal reportedly worth more than $4 billion.

The deal has not been officially announced by the International Olympic Committee, but several media outlets have reported it, including the Associated Press and The Wall Street Journal.

According to the reports, NBC won the exclusive rights to broadcast the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and also the 2018 Winter Games and 2020 Olympics, whose locations have not been selected yet.

NBC was considered a front-runner in the competition because of its extensive history with the complicated logistics of Olympic games. NBC has broadcast each Summer Olympic telecast since 1988 and the last three Winter Games.

But NBC has been going through big changes internally with its recent merger with Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) and the loss of long-time sports director Dick Ebersol. Some media analysts believed those distractions might have served as an opening for   NBCs competitors.

The IOC apparently thought differently.

An NBC spokesman didnt immediately respond to a request for confirmation of the reports.